Dive Brief:
- University policies banning or governing romantic relationships between faculty members or faculty don't protect an institution or its employees from discrimination suits or media attention.
- Inside Higher Ed reports Stanford has such a policy, which lays out proper procedures for administrative decision-making, but that didn't stave off scrutiny when former Dean Garth Saloner was implicated in a discrimination lawsuit brought by the estranged husband of the professor Saloner was dating.
- While avoiding supervisor-subordinate relationships is considered best practice in more standard work environments, academic administration is often more complicated as faculty move through the ranks of tenure and leadership.
Dive Insight:
In compliance with the school's policy, Saloner disclosed his relationship with the professor. He announced his resignation this week, saying the attention from the lawsuit distracts from the mission of Stanford's Graduate School of Business, where has served as dean since 2009. He will serve out the rest of the academic year and then pass the reins in summer 2016. The lawsuit's insinuation of a scandal grabbed the attention of a number of media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal.
The unwieldy nature of personal relationships between academics and how to manage them is gray. The American Association of University Professors offers no policy on relationships between faculty of supervisor relationships but does have statements on ethics and relationships with students.